European Council urges Israel to release detained Hamas ministers alongside release of abducted IDF soldier Shalit; ‘Israel must put an end to all activities which are contrary to international law, including settlement activities and construction of barrier on Palestinian land

The European Council called on Monday for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet in the near future.

The Council urged Israel to release the detained Hamas ministers and parliament members and at the same time called on the Palestinians to release kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

The European Council reiterated its call for full and speedy implementation of the Roadmap.

The Council said in a statement, “As a first step, the following priorities should be pursued, following a calendar agreed between the parties and monitored by the Quartet: Full and speedy implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access; full implementation of the Sharm-el Sheikh understandings, including the release of prisoners and resumption of security cooperation between the parties; parallel implementation by the parties of the obligations they have committed to under the first phase of the Roadmap.

“These, though important, are only initial steps, and must lead to meaningful negotiations on the final status, the ultimate goal of which is an end to the occupation that began in 1967 and the creation of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state, living side-by-side with Israel and its other neighbours in peace and security,” the statement said.

The Council added that, “Violations of the ceasefire must end and it should be extended to the West Bank. For the ceasefire to be meaningful and sustainable it must be consolidated through a political process.”

The Council further demanded that the parties “take concrete and immediate measures to put an end to all acts of violence, and to all activities which are contrary to international law, including settlement activities and the construction of the barrier on Palestinian land.”

“The EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders other than those agreed by both parties,” the statement said.